Manchester City prepare to buy big again – report

From the outside looking in it is difficult to know how Manchester City can improve their squad.

The one thing that they lack and will struggle to buy is experience on the European front – but that will of course come in time.

The one area of possible fragility is at centre back. Porto’s Eliaquim Mangala has been linked to Manchester City for a long time and nearly joined the club in January. But he has intimated that he may prefer a switch to Chelsea.

And recent reports suggest that Manchester City may look at Roma’s goalscoring centre back Mehdi Benatia.

After taking some time to find his feet in the French leagues Benatia moved to Udinese in 2010. After 3 successful years in Italy he signed for Roma for 13.5m euros and was the joint top scorer for the Serie A outfit last season with nine goals.

The Guardian states Thursday that Manchester City are ready to pay big bucks for the stopper.

Manchester City, meanwhile, are prepared to fork out up to £30m for Roma centre-back Mehdi Benatia

Even a club like Manchester City may struggle to keep three players of the quality of Mangala, Benatia and Vincent Kompany happy. So perhaps the Benatia move is a response to Mangala stating a preference for London.

Let’s have a look at the lad in action. Manchester City fans would you prefer Mangala or Benatia given the choice?